Underlying Causes

Below is a link to an article from the National Bureau of Economic Research Web site, which takes a stab at trying to explain why women outnumber men is college.

Why Do Women Outnumber Men in College?

Here are some of the reasons that the author, columnist David R. Francis, sites in the article:

• In the 1950s, most women majored in education, English, and literature. A decade later, young women were aiming higher than becoming teachers and social workers, and so they took more science and math courses in high school. As a result, their twelfth grade math and reading test scores increased relative to those of boys.
  
• The age of female college graduates' first marriage increased by about 2.5 years in the 1970s, raising the median marriage age to 25. This delay allowed many women to focus on their education instead of searching for a mate.
  
• The popularization of the "pill" allowed women to plan their futures better.
• Changes in government policies reassured women that job discrimination by employers against women would not be tolerated.
• Cognitive development: boys tend to mature more slowly than girls, and as a result, they have more behavioral problems in school than girls, who are more diligents about their studies. These factors can explain virtually the entire female advantage in getting into college.
• In 1980s and 1990s, teenage boys had a higher rate of arrests and school suspensions than teenage girls.